Observational study reveals alcohol buffers stress from non-catastrophic events in rural adults, suggesting buffering depends on symptom type and trauma severity.
The possible stress-buffering properties of alcohol consumption are examined. Data on psychological symptoms from 1270 rural adults supported both symptom dimension (affective/somatic) and type of event (catastrophic/noncatastrophic) as possible influences upon buffering properties. Non-catastrophic events showed the greatest buffer effects from alcohol use. For depressive symptoms the greatest buffer effect was produced by occasional drinking; moderate drinking had a less pronounced effect. For somatic symptoms, buffer effects were suggested for both moderate and heavy drinkers. No buffer effects from alcohol were observed for catastrophic events.
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James Alan Neff (1985) studied this question.
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